mums4justice

Are you a mum fed up with seeing estranged fathers performing silly stunts? It's time that mothers' voices were better heard. As the CSA is killed off, Take a Break launches a new campaign.

They dressed up as comic-book heroes and breached security at Buckingham Palace. They scaled bridges and closed the London Eye. They even caused a stir in Parliament by chucking purple powder at Tony Blair. Their stunts were childish, but there's no denying that Fathers 4 Justice have made themselves heard.

But who's standing up for mums who've been left holding the baby? Take a Break is launching a mums4justice campaign. We're sick of hearing about the plight of hard-done-by dads who are being denied access to their beloved kids. These men dump all the blame on their ex-partners. But their sob stories have not gone down well with single mothers across the UK.

They say that while these men pose as superheroes, some of them are just the opposite. They're men who don't even put food on the table for their kids. According to figures from the soon-to-be defunct Child Support Agency (CSA), almost one in three absent parents has failed to pay child support. One in three!

No wonder mothers are angry especially when dads who don't pay a penny turn up on the doorstep demanding to see their kids. They've had enough of such men wanting to play happy families.

One mum, Kerry, says: 'My son's father has been in and out of his child's life every few months. He started off seeing him every week, then the visits dwindled. 'A few months later I received a solicitor's letter saying I'd been keeping my ex from seeing his son.' Her former partner was granted access by the family courts, only to do the same thing again. 'What do you say to a child when their dad sees them regularly, then doesn't want to know?' she says. Not only that but she gets less than £10 a week in child support from her ex. He claims to have a low-paid part-time job. But he's boasted that he's working full-time for cash in hand. Kerry wants everyone in the same position as herself to get behind our mums4justice campaign. She says: ' There needs to be some rule in place that says if you stop seeing your child twice, you can't go back to court again. My son's dad keeps dropping in and out of his life and the solicitors say it doesn't matter how many times it happens. He can just go back to court again and demand access.'

It's about time men like Kerry's ex were made to face up to their responsibilities. We want the government to change the law to make sure that men do the following:

Pay child support in full every month and on time.

Don't get away with lying about their earnings and pretending to be unemployed to wriggle out of paying up.

Stick to visiting arrangements organised either by family courts or with their ex-partners.

If you're a mum who's had enough of feckless fathers whingeing about their rights then get behind our mums4justice campaign or check out our mums4justice Facebook page.